Little American Romance
by BooksAreLikeChocolateButBetter
Summary: Arthur Kirkland led a perfectly normal life. Unlike his school peers, he didn't suffer from emotional turmoil that is associated with teenage love. However, when Alfred F. Jones arrives along with his twin Matthew Williams it seems that all of that is about to change. Arthur finds himself suffering from the crazy-little-thing-called-love. Why are heroes all so damn attractive? UKUS
1. One

Chapter One

The bright glare of the harsh sun filtered in through the gap of the curtains as Arthur Kirkland slept. His arm was draped over the side of his double bed and _A Tale of Two Cities, _the book that he had stayed up late reading was flopped open on the floor. Arthur's chest rose and fell as he slept; his messy blonde locks shimmered slightly in the beam of sunlight. His desk was still cluttered from his late-night studying that he had abandoned in favour of starting his book.

He was awoken from his slumber by the shrill blare of his alarm on his phone, alerting him that it was Monday and that he needed to get up for school. His eyes opened mechanically, and his eyes glared at his phone as he shut it off. He sat up, yawned and ruffled his sleep-affected locks. He showered, picked an outfit and dressed.

When he had finished getting dressed he gathered up his things and left his bedroom. His knuckles rapped on the door next to his; the room of Peter Kirkland, Arthur's little brother. He sighed to himself, Peter was fifteen and yet he still had to be woken up by his seventeen-year-old brother.

"Peter, get up! It's Monday! You have school!"

A groan was heard from the other side of the wooden barrier and Arthur chuckled to himself before heading downstairs.

Their living room was immaculate as usual. Their mother liked to keep things neat and clean, though Arthur thought it was too clean_. _He liked a room to have a "lived-in" atmosphere which was why his room was typically cluttered with books and papers. He dumped his school bag on the sofa and made himself a cup of tea, another morning ritual. His mother would already be at work, she was a College professor but she liked to get to work early to prepare for her classes. Arthur was incredibly close to his mother and was immensely proud of her. She was a single mother who had managed to bring up two boys very well. Arthur and Peter both had good childhoods and they had all of the materials they needed. Sure, they weren't rich but they weren't struggling. They had made the move to America from England a few years ago, and they were doing fairly well. They lived in a nice suburban neighbourhood and both Arthur and Peter went to a multinational school for gifted students. Though, with some students it was difficult to see _how _they were gifted. He suspected that their parents offered the school lots of money for their child to be accepted. He knew that was a fairly common occurrence for schools like his.

Arthur had finished his tea as he heard Peter thudding down the stairs. He checked his watch, if they left now they would get to school exactly on time which was an unusual thing for the Kirkland brothers as they were usually late.

"Ready, Peter?" Arthur asked, cocking a thick eyebrow at Peter's outfit. The younger Kirkland was going through a punk/Goth phase and was dressed entirely in black. When asked about his recent outfit choices, Peter had argued that Arthur had dressed like that before and it had made him "wicked-popular." What Peter didn't know was that Arthur cringed whenever he thought of his punk phase, _what had he been thinking?_

"Ready," Peter replied sleepily, his rucksack already slung over his shoulders.

Arthur grabbed his house keys, placed his own rucksack on his shoulders and exited the house. He locked the front door and the two brothers began the walk to school.

* * *

Arthur was relieved to see that they had indeed arrived at school on time. His relief quickly subsided when he saw a particular Frenchman waiting for him at the school entrance. Francis had gleaming ocean blue eyes, shoulder-length hair, a slight stubble, was dressed in his typical flamboyant attire and was a complete pain in the arse. Francis was flanked by his two friends, Gilbert, the albino German and Antonio, the brunette, tanned Spaniard. The trio were the kind of students that made Arthur wonder about the schools "gifted" status.

Peter rushed off, having spotted his friends and Arthur was left alone with the trio.

"Ah, morning Arthur!" The Frenchman waved. "Have you heard the news?" Francis asked, obviously wanting to share some gossip with the Brit.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "How could I have heard the news? I've only just got here."

Francis continued, undeterred; "Ah yes, of course! Well, we've heard rumours that we're going to be getting some new students!" Francis practically squealed, excited. New students were a rarity at their school, and two at the same time, well that was even more unusual.

Arthur shrugged, disinterest lacing his words. "Right. And how do you know this?" Arthur asked, not really bothered but Francis wouldn't move until he'd finished and he was blocking the entrance.

"Toni's mother is on the government board," Francis explained. Antonio nodded to confirm this.

"Ah, of course. " Arthur rolled his eyes. _How could he possibly forget that? "_Well, is that all you wanted to tell me?" Arthur asked; keen to actually get inside the school. The sun was blaring down on him, making his blonde hair stick to his forehead; it was too hot to be standing around talking.

"No, there's more," Francis continued. "Apparently, they're in our year and they're twins!" he announced.

"Okay, that's great Francis." Arthur moved forwards, towards the door but Francis didn't move. "Now, I need to go into school. Some of us are actually here to study and excel," Arthur snapped at him, impatient and eager to start his lessons on time for once.

"We already do excel, that's why we're here," Francis retorted, smug.

Arthur turned and gave Francis a measured look. "Well, I think _some of us _could do with a little improvement."

This gained strong laughter from both Antonio and Gilbert whilst Arthur enjoyed the insulted expression on Francis' face. _Stupid frog…_He went inside and found his first class which was English. Arthur smiled; English was his favourite lesson and he had managed to annoy Francis, what a good start to the day.

* * *

About half an hour into the lesson, the classroom door flung open and Arthur paused writing his essay on _To Kill a Mockingbird _to look up and see what had caused the disturbance.

"I think this is the right room, Mattie!"

Arthur's eyes widened as the speaker brought the piece of paper he had been holding down from his face. The teenager, who Arthur assumed to be one of the new students, was stunningly good looking. He had sparkling deep blue eyes, a tanned face, and dirty blonde hair which featured a prominent cowlick that seemed to defy gravity. He had thin glasses that made his sapphire eyes even more noticeable. He was also _extremely_ well built and he had donned a buttoned shirt that flaunted his body _perfectly. _His jeans were just crossing the border into tight. Arthur noticed that Francis' mouth was gaped open from the new student's entrance and chuckled.

The new student turned to the teacher. "Is this English?" he asked, a hopeful edge to his voice and Arthur guessed that the student had been trying to find the classroom for a while.

"Yes, it is." She smiled, and took his sheet of paper from his hands. "You must be one of the new students, right?"

"Yep, I'm Alfred F. Jones and this is my twin Matthew Williams," he replied, gesturing to someone behind him.

Arthur craned his neck to see the twin that Alfred had mentioned and sure enough, there he was, practically hiding behind his brother. Arthur could already tell who the social butterfly out of the two was. Matthew looked fairly similar to Alfred, only less striking and not as noticeable. He had deep blue eyes that neared violet and a little curl stuck out of his blonde hair. He also seemed to have a slight nervous disposition, judging by the way he was cowering behind Alfred.

"Alright, well it's a pleasure to meet you both. I'm your English teacher, obviously." She smiled, shaking the twins' hands. "Now, where to put you?" She scanned the room for vacant chairs for the two newcomers.

Arthur's heart sped up as he realised that there were only two available places in the classroom, one next to him and one next to Francis. Arthur sighed as he realised that the teacher had ordered Matthew to sit next to him and Alfred had to sit next to Francis. He leant back in his chair and smiled at the quieter twin as he took the seat next to Arthur.

"Hello," he greeted the shy teenager, "I'm Arthur Kirkland, student body president."

He always felt proud of himself when he used that title; it was like saying that he was _extra gifted. _He was also in charge of the newspaper club but he didn't want to brag.

Matthew smiled softly at him, whilst getting his equipment out of his bag. "I'm Matthew. Pleased to meet you." He spoke in a hushed whisper. Arthur could already see that the two twins were incredibly different.

"You too." Arthur smiled, trying to be as friendly as possible. Arthur watched in curiosity as Matthew was handed an English schoolbook and he wrote his name on the front.

"Williams?" he questioned, "isn't your twin's surname Jones?"

"Yes." Arthur was intrigued and obviously revealed this as Matthew went on to explain. "Well, it's complicated but my mum's maiden surname is Jones whilst dad's is Williams. So, both of our surnames were Williams at one point." Matthew paused, checking to see if Arthur was still listening. "But, dad left us a couple of years ago and Alfred," Matthew sighed. "Well, he's really close to mum and hates dad, so he changed his surname to Jones but I just couldn't bring myself to do it." He finished his sentence and Arthur couldn't help but notice the sad tone in his voice.

Arthur had nodded whilst he listened to Matthew's story. It made sense and Arthur could understand Alfred's decision. He, too, had changed his name to his mother's, so had Peter.

"Ah, that makes sense, I suppose. Sorry for asking I must seem rude," Arthur apologised.

Matthew smiled shakily. "No, it's fine. You weren't to know."

The English class seemed to fly by and soon the bell had gone and the class were packing up their things. As Arthur was packing the last of his things into his bag, he felt something, or someone, crash straight into him. Luckily, he kept his grip on the desk and didn't topple over but the impact still hurt. He turned to yell at the clumsy oaf who had crashed into him but found himself faced with the new student.

"Dude, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going. I'd come over to talk to you but I tripped up on the way over, haha!" Arthur noticed how close they were and blushed, stepping back a little.

"No, it's fine. I'm Arthur Kirkland. Student body president." He grimaced at his need to state his "importance." _You just can't help it can you, show off? _He stuck his hand out for Alfred to shake it but the American pulled him into a tight hug instead.

"Alfred F. Jones, part time student, full time hero!" he announced, laughing at his own title. "So… Student body president, huh? Pretty cool." A small tone of admiration laced the American's voice.

Arthur finished packing up his stuff and began to head out of the door, with Alfred tailing him. "It's not as flashy as it sounds. It's just a lot of boring hard work."

"Nah, I think that's pretty cool!" The American beamed and Arthur had to study him to see if he was being sarcastic. He decided he wasn't.

A few minutes of silence passed, then: "So Artie, do you wanna be friends?"

Arthur spluttered. "Artie?! What on Earth is that?"

Alfred pouted. "It's a nickname."

"It's bloody awful," Arthur argued.

"Well, learn to like it," the American retorted. Apparently, "Artie" was now staying.

"Fine," he huffed, rolling his eyes. "Yes, Alfred we can be friends."

"Awesome!" The American fist-pumped. "I'm gonna go tell Mattie that I've got a new friend already!" Alfred ran off, leaving a chuckling and slightly flustered Arthur alone in the corridor.

* * *

School passed by very quickly and it was soon time for the students to go home. Arthur was waiting at the school gates for Peter when the twins approached them. He tried to hold in a smile when he saw Alfred heading in his direction. Luckily for the Brit, it wasn't that much of a challenge as Matthew was with Francis and Gilbert and, to Arthur's dismay, they were also heading towards him.

"Ah, Arthur! I think these twins will make great students, non?" Francis asked with a wink.

Much to Arthur's utter distaste, both of the twins blushed.

"Oh, Matthew you're so adorable when you blush!" Francis cooed.

"He's right! Ain't you just the cutest thing?" Gilbert joined in, squeezing the younger twin's face.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Oh for God's sake," he chided, "grow up, you two!"

"Killjoy," Gilbert muttered, leading Matthew out of the gate with Francis in tow.

Arthur turned to Alfred who had been watching the scene with mild interest. "I weep for your poor brother."

"Why?" Alfred asked, his sapphire eyes looked puzzled.

"Francis Bonnefoy and Gilbert Beilschmidt," Arthur explained, "the "womanizers" if you will. They flirt with everyone, it seems like they've taken an interest in Matthew."

Alfred frowned but didn't comment and Arthur watched as he took his phone out of his pocket. "Can I have your number?"

Arthur shrugged, feigning calm. "I don't see the harm in it." Arthur got out his phone and the pair exchanged numbers.

Arthur spotted Peter coming out of the school gates and waved at him to alert him of his location. "Peter! Over here!"

"Peter?" Alfred squinted. "Is that your brother?" Alfred asked.

"Yes. He's going through a "phase" at the moment,"Arthur explained, referencing to his outfit and hair colour which was a dyed black. Alfred ahed in understanding.

"Are you ready to go Peter?" Arthur asked his brother who was now standing next to the pair.

"Yep, I'm all ready!" Peter beamed at the pair.

The two brothers bid farewell to Alfred and headed home.

"So…" Peter asked, "Who was that?"

"Just a friend, well I barely know him. New student."

At that moment Arthur's phone bleeped.

**From: Alfred**

**Hey Artie! (You like that nickname secretly XD) Really glad I met you; it's nice to ha****ve a new friend! :)**

Arthur smiled as he replied to Alfred and clicked his phone off. He had a feeling that school was going to be a lot better from now on.

* * *

**A/N: Some of you may have noticed that I published this story before. Well, I decided to re-publish it as it needed some serious editing which required me to delete my old story and start a new one- at least this one isn't filled with terrible typos!**

**Hope you guys like it!**

**This is gonna be a story (not a one-shot) so there will be a plot, which will pretty much be the whole USUK/UKUS love story.**

**Oh, special thanks to Kiki Beilschmidt for the title name!**

**~BooksAreLikeChocolateButBetter.**


	2. Two

Chapter Two

The next week, Arthur found himself actually looking forward to school in the mornings. It wasn't as if Arthur hated school; he loved school. He loved to learn and study and he honestly found school rather enjoyable. But, at 7:00AM he often found himself not liking school as much as he would do later during the day due to the fact that he was simply not that much of a morning person. However, as he walked with Peter to school he was unusually chipper. He tried to push out the one recurring face and patterns of thoughts that was running through his mind; _Alfred F. Jones. _He had to admit; the new addition to the school intrigued him. Arthur sensed that there was something special about Alfred, not something majorly different but just _special_. Arthur thought back to the way the blue eyed American had beamed when Arthur had agreed to be friends with him; it had surprised the Brit that Alfred had been so happy by their friendship. _Surely Alfred's had friends before? _The loud obnoxious newcomer seemed the type of person who you would classify as "popular" so it seemed odd to the Brit that Alfred would want to be friends with someone like _him._

"Arthur, are you even listening to me?" Peter whined at his bigger brother.

Arthur jolted out of his thoughts and turned to his little brother who was currently pouting. "Yes, I'm bloody listening!" Arthur paused. "What were you saying?"

Peter sighed. "I was _saying _that mum wants to know if you're planning on invite your new boyfriend over."

"_Boyfriend? What are you on about?" _Arthur spluttered, his cheeks turning slightly pink. He then received an afterthought and trained his intense emerald glare on Peter. "And how does mum even know about Alfred, hmm?"

Peter held his hands up in surrender. "I was only joking! Gosh, someone's touchy today." Peter rolled his eyes before running off having spotted his friends. "See you after school, Arthur!"

"Goodbye!" Arthur yelled after his brother. "_And good riddance,_" Arthur muttered as he walked into school. It seemed that his unusual morning happiness had faded.

"Hey, Artie!" As suddenly as it had disappeared the happiness returned. Arthur stifled a smile as he strode over to the American who was waving at him.

"Good morning, Alfred. So you've made it an entire week. I'm glad to know that you didn't find us all utterly dreadful then," Arthur joked. _That was stupid, who says stuff like that? What am I, some middle aged man? _Arthur cringed, why did intelligence seem to leave him when he spoke to Alfred?

Arthur saw that the joke was lost on Alfred whose sparkling sapphires were scrunched up in concentration.

"Huh? Whaddya mean, Artie?" Alfred asked.

Arthur rolled his eyes and huffed. "I was making a joke." Alfred still looked confused. "It's typically customary to laugh when someone else makes a joke," he added, trying to relieve the awkwardness.

Almost as if he'd had a sudden epiphany, Arthur saw the light switch on in Alfred's brain as the American began to laugh. "Oh! I get it now, nah you guys aren't so bad." Alfred paused as if thinking, "Well, at least you're not," he added.

Arthur felt heat rise up to his cheeks, a sign of an oncoming blush and he desperately tried to quell it. _God, it's been one week and I'm already fawning over the poor lad. Get a bloody grip, Arthur._

He cleared his throat. "Thank you, Alfred." Not knowing what else to say the Brit opted for silence and he waited for the awkwardness to ensue again. Luckily for him, the school bell began to ring just before the inevitable discomfort could begin.

Alfred grinned and motioned towards the corridor behind him. "What class do you have, Artie?"

Arthur fished out his timetable and groaned. "I have bloody science. God, I _hate _the subject with a passion."

Alfred visibly brightened. "I have science too! I wonder if we're in the same class." They compared timetables and found that, sure enough, they were in the same class. "Come on, Artie we don't wanna be late!" The American grabbed Arthur's hand and practically dragged him to the science lab.

Arthur allowed a small smile to grace his features- _maybe science won't be so bad this year._

* * *

"So, do you wanna be partners?"

Arthur, startled, looked up from his doodling to be greeted by the intense, bright blue gaze of Alfred.

"I beg your pardon?" Arthur asked, a little dazed. Surely the question was a bit too personal. After all, they had only known each other for a week.

"Y'know, on the project? The teacher literally just explained it to us. I think that you zoned out for a little bit," The American proclaimed, parking his butt on the vacant lab stool next to the Brit.

"Oh."

The Brit suddenly felt very stupid, how could he have thought that the American meant partners as in a way that was definitely not school related? _This is it…I'm losing my mind. Arthur Kirkland has finally lost his marbles due to the annoyingly inconceivably perfect Alfred F. Jones, how bloody ridiculous._

"So… Do ya?" Alfred questioned.

"I don't see why not. What's the project about again?" Alfred had been right; Arthur really hadn't been paying any attention. Science really wasn't his forte.

"It's about _space_ and _NASA_!" he announced, happily. "And ours is gonna be the best project ever!" His blue eyes began to glisten with excitement and Arthur couldn't help but feel excited too. Alfred's happiness was contagious.

"Sounds…Interesting." Arthur allowed as they began to pack up.

"Interesting?" The American pouted. "Dude, it's going to be freaking awesome! Like Marvel-level awesome and that's pretty damn awesome."

"Indeed," Arthur replied as they headed out of the classroom door.

"Yeah!" he chuckled and checked his timetable. "Oh, I got Math next. You?"

Arthur followed suit and pulled out his own timetable. "I have bloody History next." Arthur groaned as he realised who he sat next to in that particular class. "I'm sitting next to bloody Francis."

Alfred grimaced. "Have fun!" He began to rush off before stopping and turning to face Arthur. "See you at lunch, yeah?"

"Of course!" Arthur replied, maybe a _bit_ too eagerly.

Alfred flashed a thumbs-up, making Arthur's heart flutter slightly, and then the American disappeared, in his haste to get to Maths leaving the Brit to make his slow walk to his History class.

* * *

The rest of the school day seemed to pass ridiculously slowly for Arthur and after what seemed like forever, he was finally waiting at the school gates for Alfred. At Alfred's persistent insistence, they were going to go to Arthur's house to work on their NASA project. Arthur, like Alfred, was bumbling with enthusiasm but for a completely different reason. A reason that Arthur knew was utterly selfish yet he couldn't help it. Alfred was going to be spending the night at his house (they had decided that it would be easier for the American to sleepover so that they could walk to school together) and Arthur could feel himself getting _butterflies_ in his stomach. _Bloody hell Arthur, grow up, you're not some giggling schoolgirl!_

He didn't want to think about it but Alfred was already- admittedly unknowingly- changing the Brit. His usual grumpy persona was evolving into something…_chirpy? _No, the Brit shook his head, trying to eradicate his worrying thoughts. He would not let himself be changed by someone he barely knew, that wouldn't be right. And besides, Arthur didn't need changing, he was fine. Maybe he was a _tad _grumpy but that was all, although Alfred's ray-of-sunshine behaviour had made him rethink his attitude. He brushed his thoughts aside; he did not need this kind of emotional turmoil right now.

"You ready, Artie?"

Arthur was once again startled out of his thoughts by the loud and, as usual, beaming American who was casually standing in front of the Brit, his rucksack hitched over one shoulder.

"I'm ready," Arthur replied, before scowling; "And I thought I told you not to call me Artie!"

Alfred laughed. "But, it's cute so it totally suits you!"

Arthur's heart did not flutter just then, nor did his cheeks redden. _They. Did. Not._

Arthur tried to cushion his emotional issues by changing the subject. "Where's Matthew? I don't see him anywhere. Don't you usually wait for him?" As soon as he'd asked the question, the Brit wanted to take it back. He noticed Alfred's change in mood; he'd turned sombre in a moment of seconds.

"Yeah, well…" The American sighed and rubbed his neck. "He's behaving all weird. I don't know what's wrong with him and he won't tell me. He's abusing his elder twin powers and refusing to tell me anything. I think he's hiding something, he's acting all guilty, I don't know…"

The Brit felt a surge of sympathy for his American friend. Alfred seemed greatly distressed and it made Arthur feel sorry for him. "I don't know what to say Alfred, I'm sure he'll tell you what's wrong eventually." Alfred just sighed and nodded.

The pair began to walk out of the school gates and headed to Arthur's house. Peter had "music club" (this consisted of him and a few lonely teenagers playing My Chemical Romance in the empty choir room), and so they were able to leave straight away.

* * *

"_Woah_,dude, you have a crap-ton of DVD's!" the American exclaimed, kneeling in front of one of the Kirkland's many DVD cabinets. "And you have _The Amazing Spiderman 2_!" Alfred squealed excitedly.

Arthur watched the American from the sofa, a cup of tea was nestled on the Brit's lap, a faint smile on Arthur's face. Alfred was truly adorable, especially when excited about something. _Ugh, shut up! Stupid brain… It's just Alfred. Bumbling, naïve, slightly idiotic Alfred… Snap out of it, Arthur._

"Oi, aren't we supposed to be working?" Alfred looked up at Arthur with an expression similar to that of a child caught doing something naughty.

"Uh…Yeah?" he replied, sheepishly, his blue eyes twinkling.

The two students had already eaten, courtesy of Alice's cooking which in Arthur's opinion had been particularly delicious that night, most likely due to Alfred's visit. They were now seated in the living room, already kitted out in their pyjamas. They made quite a sight, Alfred was decked out in his Marvel PJ's and Arthur's night-wear featured a fabulous pink unicorn. They had both cocked eyebrows at each other's fashion choices but had left it at that.

"Artie?"

Arthur sighed at the nickname but responded nonetheless."Yes, Alfred?"

"Can we not work, and watch Spiderman instead? It's just- I've only seen it once and I really want to watch it again. Please?" Pleading blue eyes met green and Arthur felt compelled to give in.

"Okay, but if we fall behind on this project then I'm blaming you," he warned, before kneeling next to Alfred and setting up the DVD. The menu screen started and the pair rushed back to the sofa, keen not to miss a bit of the film. The movie started and Alfred's eyes were fixed on the screen, but Arthur's eyes were fixed on Alfred the whole time and that's how it would always be with Arthur.

And that was alright.

* * *

The credits began to roll as both Alfred and Arthur stretched; the movie had made them tired and they both longed for the comfort of sleep.

"Are you sure you're okay on the couch Artie?" Alfred asked for about the hundredth time that evening, a small but unsettling frown on the American's face. _He really doesn't suit frowning, _mused the Brit.

"Yes, Alfred, I'm fine on the couch!" Arthur reassured his friend.

"Okay…"Alfred got up from the sofa and headed towards the stairs, "I guess I'll say night then Artie. Oh, you may have to wake me up tomorrow…I'm not what you'd call a morning person." He chuckled as he walked up the stairs.

The Brit rolled his eyes. Arthur had suspected as much, Alfred seemed to be more of a night owl than an early bird.

"Goodnight Alfred!" He called up, but the American had already shut the bedroom door. He shrugged; Alfred had probably still heard him.

He lay on the sofa, a woollen blanket draped over him. As usual he was thinking about Alfred. _How had the American he'd only known for such a short amount of time gotten so close to his heart already? _It was like fate; if such a thing existed.

_Bloody hell, I think I'm falling in love…_Was it possible? Could the hard-hearted Brit really be falling in love with his American friend? He wasn't sure. Arthur shifted around on the sofa; trying to get comfortable. Satisfied that he'd found a suitable spot, the Brit closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, all thoughts of Alfred F. Jones dissipated from his mind.

* * *

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**~BooksAreLikeChocolateButBetter**

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	3. Three

Chapter Three

It had been an entire week since Alfred had spent the night in Arthur's bed and the Brit had not stopped thinking about the blue-eyed American. Admittedly, Alfred had been alone and not with Arthur but he had still been _in his bed._ Arthur couldn't help but yearn for Alfred to come over again to work on the project. He had pictured the moment in his mind, replayed it over and over when he lay awake in bed at night. The next time Alfred came over they'd go up to his room to look at Arthur's music collection which Alfred said he liked or scan his bookshelf for an action novel. It would be like one of those romantic movies that Arthur secretly enjoyed. Alfred would subconsciously move closer to Arthur in his haste to grab one of the books and then- as light as a feather's touch- their hands would brush. Alfred's cheeks would turn a shade of pink in the light and he would smile at Arthur sheepishly. Arthur would shrug, _so what? _The Brit would move closer, their faces would almost touch and then Arthur would raise his hand and rest it against the American's cheek. No words were needed; they were creating their own language. Words were being shaped in the gentleness of their touch, in their bashful glances and in the glowing hue of their faces. Their lips would collide. Afterwards, Alfred would rest his head on Arthur's shoulder as they watched a movie; their friendship transpiring into something else; something _more_.

However, his imagination had not prepared for _this._ Alfred was stood on Arthur's doorstep; his blue eyes were shimmering with unshed tears and there was a rucksack on his back.

"Alfred?" Arthur blinked the tiredness away and tried to focus- it was ten at night and he was just about to go to bed when he'd heard a frantic knocking at the door and had found Alfred, looking broken, outside of his house. "Is everything alright?" _Really, Arthur? Is everything alright? What a stupid thing to say, he's stood outside your house, tears in his eyes in the middle of the night, of course it bloody isn't! _

Alfred shrugged. "Nobody's been hurt or anything if that's what you mean." He was avoiding Arthur's gaze and, when he spoke, he spoke to the floor. "I just need a place to stay tonight, I can't go home, I just can't…" Alfred looked up at Arthur and Arthur swore he felt his heart shatter into tiny pieces.

Arthur didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything at all. He just stood there, staring as Alfred (who seemed equally as uncomfortable as Arthur) looked everywhere but at Arthur. After about thirty seconds, Alfred broke the silence once more. "Look I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry. I'll go find someplace else to stay, sorry for bothering you." With that, he turned around and began to walk away from Arthur's front garden.

"Alfred, wait!" Arthur cried, pushing the door wide open. Alfred turned around but made no attempt to move. "Of course, you can stay here, Alfred, of course, you can." He was so terrible at handling these situations and it was even harder when he'd only known Alfred for a short space of time and he had no idea what had made the American so upset in the first place.

Alfred gave a watery smile and walked silently towards the door, Arthur moved aside and let the American past noticing, briefly, that Alfred had changed his body spray. He thought he had liked the old one, but this one, which smelt softer and made him think of the sun, this one he liked immensely. Arthur internally cursed himself for going so off topic when something so terrible was happening to his friend. He closed the door, locking it securely, and joined Alfred who had curled into a protective ball on the far side of the sofa.

To Arthur's surprise, Alfred was not crying. He seemed to have surpassed sorrow and was instead embarking upon passivity and numbness as he stared blankly at nothing, his fingers picking at a piece of loose thread on the sofa.

Arthur chewed his lip thoughtfully. He had no idea what to do now. He placed (what he hoped was) a reassuring hand on Alfred's shoulder before addressing him gently, "Alfred?" the American gave no indication that he had heard Arthur, he continued staring ahead of him, "do you mind telling me what's wrong? You don't have to, but I'm sure it'll help." Arthur left it at that. If Alfred wanted to talk he would and he would do it, Arthur knew, when he was ready.

After a few minutes of silence, Arthur stood. He saw Alfred's eyes briefly dart towards him, but they were looking back at the wall a second later. "I'm going to make us a cup of tea," Arthur said softly, "I'll be back in a minute." Alfred nodded and Arthur headed towards the kitchen. Tea, he knew, would solve everything.

* * *

It took a whole mug of tea and half a pack of custard creams before Alfred finally spoke. Arthur had nearly given up and was going to ask Alfred if he minded watching something on the telly when he broke the silence. "It's Mattie."

Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had hardly expected sweet, reserved Matthew to be at the heart of Alfred's problems. "Matthew?" he asked pointlessly, "what about him? Is he okay?"

Alfred sighed and shook some loose strands of hair from his eyes, he tapped the empty mug he was still holding in a slow rhythm as he stared at his feet. "To be honest with you, I'm not sure," he responded. He placed the empty mug on the glass coffee table and turned so that he was sat cross-legged on the sofa and facing Arthur.

"Mattie has been acting, well, kinda _strange_ just lately."

"How so?"

"The moment he comes home, he goes straight upstairs, barely pausing to say hi to mom and rushes up to his room. He used to be so different. He'd stay downstairs all evening (unless he had hockey club) and he'd spend time with mom and me." Alfred closed his eyes and massaged his temple as though he had a headache. Arthur felt a powerful surge of sympathy towards Alfred rush through him. "So I checked his computer." Alfred glanced at Arthur and Arthur knew he was waiting for Arthur to say something, about invading another's privacy but Arthur knew, if he was desperate, he would do the same for Peter and he wouldn't even hesitate.

"What did you find?" Arthur asked, curious as to what could possibly be so bad.

Alfred heaved a heavy sigh. "He found our dad. He's been talking to him for months. Our deadbeat dad who walked out on our mom."

Arthur wasn't sure of what to say. His father had left when he was so little and when his mother was pregnant with Peter, that he couldn't really relate to the whole bitterness side of things. He'd learnt a long time ago not to depend on people, even family, so the fact that his dad had chosen to abandon him completely never really bothered him.

"I'm so sorry Alfred." He raised a hand to touch his friend's shoulder, but dropped it at the last second, feeling awkward. "But, you can't really do much about it and, in a way, you've almost no right to be angry." Alfred narrowed his eyes and was about to speak in protest, but Arthur carried on before the American could say anything. "I mean, he's Matthew's dad as much as he is yours, and it's only natural for people, especially teenagers, to want to reconcile with their parents, with their possible role models."

Alfred sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "I know, I know. I just can't deal with him back right now and I know mom would be heartbroken if she ever found out-" Alfred's speech was interrupted by the sound of his phone buzzing and he as he scanned the message, his mouth began to frown. _Frowning doesn't suit him, _Arthur thought, _he looks much nicer when he smiles. _

"What's the matter?"

"It's mom. Mattie must have told her we had a fight, so she's worried." Alfred slumped back on the sofa and groaned. Arthur tried hard not to roll his eyes, he thought Alfred was being overdramatic, but different people reacted to different things in different ways and he wanted to respect that.

"Look, Alfred, you can sleep here for tonight if you wish and tomorrow we can attempt to sort things out. Does that sound okay?"

Whilst he didn't beam as he normally would have, the corner of Alfred's mouth tilted upwards and Arthur knew that he had said the right thing. "That sounds good, Artie. You wanna watch a movie?"

This time, Arthur did roll his eyes and he made sure that Alfred saw him. Alfred was a major film fanatic and Arthur never really had the time for them, so his film knowledge was highly limited and Alfred loved to tease him for it. "Fine. What do you want to want to watch?"

Alfred allowed himself to smile as he conveniently pulled a film out of his bag and Arthur's stomach couldn't help but flutter slightly when he saw Alfred's gorgeous blue eyes light up after they'd been so dull all evening. His friend was beautiful and Arthur felt sad that Alfred, humble Alfred, had no idea.

"So I got _The Princess Bride_, wanna watch that?"

Arthur grinned, chuckling slightly. "Who wouldn't want to watch a film about true love, revenge, fighting, magic and miracles?"

Alfred's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows. "You've _seen_ it? Like, you've actually seen a movie? A good movie?"

"Ha ha, Alfred," Arthur said, his voice heavy in sarcasm, "hilarious. Just play the bloody film, will you? Some of us would like to be in bed before midnight."

Alfred grinned and inserted the film into the DVD player. He flopped onto the sofa, Arthur moved up to make room and the pair watched the movie feeling content and entirely comfortable with one another's company.

* * *

The shrill sound of Arthur's alarm rang throughout the room. Arthur groaned, his neck was stiff as he had been resting his head on something hard and his legs were dangling over the arm of the sofa. _The sofa?_ Arthur sat up, puzzled, and looked around his living room. He saw that it had been Alfred's shoulder his head had been resting on and, as he looked at his friend, he allowed himself a small smile. Alfred's mouth was open and his glasses were askew as he had been resting his face on the side of the sofa. Arthur picked his phone up off the coffee table in order to switch off the alarm he had forgotten to cancel. It was seven in the morning and he had five missed calls- all from Matthew and they ranged from midnight to about four in the morning.

Arthur chewed at his lip and ran a hand through his hair. He was unsure of what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to ring Matthew and tell him not to worry and that Alfred was alright, but he didn't want to do it behind his friend's back and risk upsetting Alfred.

He decided that the best thing to do would be to wake Alfred up, and then they could figure out what to do next. Gently, he shook his friend by the arm and, when that predictably didn't work, he shouted in his friend's ear. "Alfred! Alfred, wake up!" When his friend still didn't wake up, Arthur resorted to traitorous tactics, "ALFRED FREDERICK JONES, YOU ARE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL." Almost instantaneously, Alfred sat up, a bemused expression on his face. His mouth was open in a comical fashion and his glasses had somehow managed to right themselves due to how sudden Alfred had moved. He was blinking rapidly and Arthur knew he was trying to wake himself up.

"Wha-Not again! I'm sorry, mom I-"Alfred had finally managed to blink himself awake and he glared at Arthur. "Hey, that's not even funny! You know mom kills me when I'm late."

"And you're always late, so I'm sure you're perfectly used to that by now," Arthur replied smoothly, ignoring Alfred's glare as he smoothed the creases out of his shirt. He had fallen asleep in his clothes and, seeing as they were probably going to leave the house soon, he would change after he had returned and showered.

"Why did you wake me up?" Alfred said with a groan as he checked the time on his phone, "dude, it's only seven in the morning! Oh crap," Alfred's face turned sour, "I've got like nine missed calls from Mattie, three voicemails and two from mom."

"And I've got five," Arthur replied, unsurprised by the amount of missed calls Alfred had received, "you need to let your family know that you're alright."

"Yeah, I know," Alfred sighed and stood up, almost knocking the coffee table over in his haste. Arthur held it still as it shook, knowing that his mother would bloody murder him if anything happened to it.

"Might as well go now," Alfred said as he picked up his rucksack and placed it on one shoulder, "get it over and done with."

Arthur stood too and he noticed Alfred's eyebrows raise in slight surprise. "I'm coming with you."

Alfred managed a shaky smile. "Of course you are."

* * *

As they approached Alfred's house, Arthur knew that something wasn't right. Instead of just Amelia's, Alfred's mother's, shiny black Chevrolet, there was another car. It was a large red Land Rover that Arthur had never seen before and, judging by the look on his friend's face, Alfred had never seen it before either.

Alfred walked up the driveway and pushed the front door open. Arthur stood a few metres away, not wanting to impose on a situation which was personal to Alfred. "What are you waiting for?" Alfred muttered, "you can come in too."

Arthur followed Alfred into his house and was in awe at its grandness. He had been there before, of course, but each time he entered, it still took his breath away at the sheer size of it. Alfred's house was the largest on the block, with three massive bedrooms, two luxurious bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, a study, a dining room and a living room. He also had a hot tub outside which Arthur had already been invited to use later on in the summer (he had blushed at the thought of sharing a hot tub, nearly naked, with Alfred and had never actually managed to return an answer).

Alfred led Arthur into the kitchen, where the Jones-Williams tended to gather. Alfred stopped so abruptly that Arthur collided into him, but his friend didn't notice or, if he did, he didn't bother to acknowledge it. Arthur could feel Alfred's body tense next to him and he saw that Alfred's hands had clenched into fists.

"Alfred?" Arthur's voice was barely a whisper and yet it seemed to echo in the silence. Alfred didn't answer him, so Arthur moved away from his friend so that he could enter the kitchen himself. Immediately he saw why Alfred was so angry. On the breakfast stools sat Matthew, Amelia and who must have been Alfred's dad; the resemblance was uncanny. Alfred's dad seemed to be a perfect mixture of both Alfred and Matthew; he had Matthew's violet eyes and wavy hair, but he had Alfred's tanned skin and his jaw structure.

The silence stretched from seconds into what felt like decades and Arthur stared from Matthew's sheepish face to his dad's smug expression to Amelia's nervous posture (she couldn't even bare to look at Alfred) to Alfred's anger.

"What are you doing here?" Alfred's voice cracked the silence like thunder and Arthur winced at its harshness and cold edge. Alfred was barely recognisable when he was filled with such angst and hatred.

"Well, it's nice to see you too, son. You worried your mother and brother half to death, by the way." Alfred's dad smirked and Arthur was both angered and upset to see that he was as much a bastard as Alfred had made him out to be. "And who's this then," Alfred's dad's eyes lingered on Arthur, "your boyfriend?"

Arthur felt his face redden and he wanted to run out of the room, scared that Alfred would react with disgust or disdain at such a question, but Alfred just stared at his dad with a look of pure loathing and then he simply strode out of the room, as though nothing had bothered him.

Arthur followed at once, ignoring the bewildered expressions of the others, but when he turned around and entered the grand hallway, Alfred was nowhere to be seen and the front door was wide open. Arthur ran to the door and out of the driveway. He looked down the street and saw, in the far distance, Alfred sprinting away, leaving everything behind. Arthur knew that there was no point in running after him, Alfred was too fast.

Feeling numb, Arthur went back inside the house and headed to the kitchen. He looked directly at Amelia's questioning face, wishing that he didn't have to say the words which would exit his sad mouth. "Alfred is gone."

His piercing gaze then turned on Alfred's dad's face and Matthew's shocked one and the words he spoke were laced with venom and the hurt he was beginning to feel inside him. "And you're the ones to blame."

* * *

**A/N: So. Much. Angst. **

**This is sort of a new chapter,but it sort of isn't? I just really disliked the old one tbh. **

**Sorry about how ridiculously long it's taken me to publish a new chapter!**

**I hope you enjoyed it! **

**~BooksAreLikeChocolateButBetter.**


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